Abstractions
by DawningAurora
Summary: An impulsive decision leads to unexpected consequences. SessKag.
1. Dead or Alive

**Title:** Abstraction  
**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge – Dead or Alive.  
**Genre: **Romance,Adventure, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Canon Universe; Post series.  
**Rating:** T  
**Warnings: **Crack pairing, blood.  
**Word Count:** 372  
**A/N:** This entry is a part of a series of six prompts for the WANTED! Challenge.  
**Summary:** An impulsive decision leads to unexpected consequences. SessKag.

...

He caught the scent of blood in the air. Human blood. A_ lot_ of it. So did Jaken apparently, from his frantically vacillating look from his master's face to the direction the blood came from.

"Ready the cave" was his only command as walked towards the source of it. The undergrowth was thick and bramble ridden as he drew close.

She lay in its midst, pale and far too still on the forest floor. She had lost too much blood, if the pool around her was any indication.

Her dark hair was clumped together by congealing blood. Her dirt streaked face could not have hidden her identity; neither could the outlandish clothes she wore.

The miko.

Whatever had attacked her had been indisputably powerful. That much was evident. Even on scenting the air, he didn't find any trace of Inuyasha's pack mates. He bent down and quickly assessed the extent of her injuries and then managed to lift her up so that she wouldn't be too jostled and flashed the both of them to a river. He stepped into the pool with her still in his arms, when briefly her eyes fluttered open, widening in recognition before clouding in a haze of pain and closing. He set her on a flat expanse of boulders as he clinically divested her of the dirty garment she wore and cleaned her wounds.

She would die if he didn't do _it_. He raised his wrist to his fang and slit it open, allowing the crimson rivulet to flow down his fingers. He cradled her head as he would a new born pup's and parted her lips as he guided the rivulet into her mouth.

Almost immediately, the flesh of the wounds knitted back together and a little bit of color crept into her face. Satisfied, Sesshomaru wrapped the fur pelt modestly around her and flashed towards the cave Jaken had undoubtedly prepared.


	2. Approach with Caution

**Title:** Abstractions  
**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge - Approach with Caution  
**Genre:**Romance, Adventure, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Canon Universe; Post-series.  
**Rating:** T  
**Warnings: **Crack Pairing.  
**Word Count:** 642  
**A/N:** This is part of the Dokuga WANTED! Challenge. Darlings, the beginning is going to be odd. It will be completely cleared up before the chapter is done. So put up with it until then.  
**Summary: **An impulsive decision leads to unexpected consequences.

...

When Kagome opened her eyes, she only saw a silver sky curling around her, a purple moon and two suns. How very odd. She tried to remember, only to find she couldn't. A vague name floated from her memory- Sesshomaru-sama - before she was dragged deeply under again.

The first time she woke, Kagome saw a little girl staring intently into her face. She smiled a gap toothed smile at her before flitting away. Kagome tried to call out to the girl but winced at the feeling in her throat, it felt like she had swallowed nails when she tried.

Thankfully, the girl returned soon. Better still, she was carrying a bowl of water. She knelt beside her and eased the liquid down her throat. The cold water managed to soothe her throat to a certain degree. She passed out again soon after. This continued for a while. She woke when thirsty and to the child who stood vigil over her.

The fifth time she woke, she found to her utter shock, a green demon that sat beside her- snoozing peacefully. It was only due to her sore throat that she had not screamed aloud. She felt her heart race as she attempted to sidle away but found herself nearly paralyzed by the pain that overtook her body with each movement.

"Calm yourself, miko" came a voice from the periphery of her vision. Turning her head despite the pain, she looked at its source.

A beacon of silver met her eyes as she saw the very tall silver-haired man silhouetted at the mouth of the cave. He turned in her direction, causing the moonlight to illuminate the features of a man who looked spectacularly dispassionate.

She gaped at his outlandish clothes and.. _armor!_ Everything about him screamed "approach with caution" to her. Everything from his pointy ears to his… Wait!_ Pointy ears!?_

"You're not from around here are you?" she asked before she could stop herself.

An elegant brow arched in response.

She flushed before remembering the original reason for talking to him. She sobered up as she asked "Miko?"

"You are a miko, are you not?" queried the silver haired man before her.

"Miko? I am not a miko. I'm just an ordinary middle schooler. I am.. I'm… I….." she trailed off before realizing she couldn't remember who she was. The panicky feeling returned full force.

The expression of disinterest dissipated from his face as he began to study her. He paused at length before looking intently at her.

"You will cease distressing the wounds my attendant attended to." The words were softly spoken but the command in them was hard to miss.

"Interesting… It would seem you do not recall who you are." He spoke almost to himself.

"You know me?" she asked him, tentatively.

"We were acquainted" he replied vaguely.

Warm pools of bronze turned in his direction with a pleading look. Sesshomaru really was not going to like what was going to come next.

"Will you tell me about me?"

...

***gleefully rubs hands together* You didn't see that coming, did you? *hopes not* .Anyway I hope you guys liked my rendition of Sesshomaru. If you have any pointers or opinions about things, please feel free to share them.**

**Also Rin-chan is cuddled up with Ah-Un in a warm corner of the cave. And yes, the green demon was Jaken.**

**Please feel free to air to your thoughts, views and opinions.**

**Until Chapter 3,**

**Aurora**


	3. Partners in Crime

**Disclaimer-** Didn't own InuYasha yesterday, so I probably don't own it today either.

**Title:** Abstractions

**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge - Partners in Crime  
**Genre: **Romance, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Canon Universe; Post Series  
**Rating:** K  
**Warnings: **Possible assassination of character and fluff and Jaken-angst  
**Word Count: 239**  
**A/N: **Sorry about the length.  
**Summary:** What happens when the two females gang up on Jaken?  
**Link: -**

**###**

"Lord Sesshomaru" The desperation in the voice made him pause and turn.

If Sesshomaru were a lesser man, he would have given into the fit of laughter at the sight that met him; but he was Sesshomaru, he was nothing if not stoic. Jaken wore a crown of handpicked flowers _and_ had a floral belt with trailing tassels to match.

He saw the two partners in crime sitting together wearing identical expressions of unrepentant glee. A small twitch worked its way to the corner of his lips.

Oblivious to the expression on his master's face Jaken cast a fearful look at the two, "My lord, I fear that Rin may have been kidnapped and replaced by Demons or corrupted completely by the miko. That is the only explanation I can give for this atrocity milord."

The twitch widened fractionally. "As she was your responsibility, you will exorcise the demon yourself."

Jaken's splutters were the only response he had.

**###**

**A|N-** Reviews are love, please send some my way… *puppy dog eyes*


	4. Armed and Dangerous

**Title:** Abstractions  
**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge – Armed and Dangerous  
**Genre:**Romance, Adventure, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Canon Universe; Post-series.  
**Rating:** K  
**Warnings: **Crack Pairing, sappiness, romance and Sessluv (something we are all afflicted with.)  
**Word Count:** 642  
**A/N:** This is part of the Dokuga WANTED! Challenge. I hope the scene is sweet and tender. **Summary: **An impulsive decision leads to unexpected consequences.

Chapter Summary- Kagome returns to where he thinks she belongs.

* * *

_Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky._

_Rabindranath Tagore_

* * *

The palette of the sun swept the sky in long, languid strokes of tangerines, strawberries and mangoes. It seemed appropriate for what was about to happen.

They swept into view with barely restrained eagerness. Sesshomaru felt a wash of disdain for them. They should have been above wearing their emotions on their sleeve. That was before he remembered that they thrived on the emotional solidarity and that they didn't have legions of alleged allies at their doorstep. He pushed those feelings away. The silver of the hanyou's hair fanned gracefully behind him as he descended. The taijiya and the monk leapt and were running before the firecat hit the ground.

The kit was bawling and running. They collectively dogpiled on the miko. Crushed under the mountain of scattered limbs and muffled voices and their equally heavy emotional mountain, Kagome's eyes whirled comically.

Sesshomaru rose and quickly tossed the Inuyasha aside. The monk rolled off the Taijiya after which she rose too. She offered Kagome a fierce hug and a hand to help Kagome up.

Kagome rose, her balance still killed by the sudden mass compiling on her person. She smiled a little awkwardly at the woman before her. She still wasn't sure who she was but the wisp of memory that fluttered through her mind on invisible wings showed this woman laughing and a squeeze of warmth that rose in her heart told her of the closeness that her mind did not.

The sensation of a warm, comforting weight on her shoulder and the tickle of a bottle brush tail against the back of her neck, reminded her of the kit. She smiled warmly at him too.

Fingers threaded through her own, she started as she stared into the honey-dipped irises of the red clad boy before her. They were so like Sesshomaru's and so emphasized how unlike his eyes they were. Inuyasha's eyes were brimming with emotions like a cup trying to hold in a lake while Sesshomaru's were frozen in calculated ennui.

A hand found her free shoulder and squeezed it in a gesture of comfort. The monk smiled at her, relief and happiness shining in his sloe-eyed gaze.

She felt warm and oddly, safe. But something had changed. Her eyes strayed past those of the people around her, to the silver haired Byron who had been her steadfast companion for the past two months.

She saw him looking everywhere but at them, a product of his rearing. Displays of over affectionate gestures made him squeamish and invited a severe tongue lashing at each overture. Yet, with the sight of him in all his armed and dangerous glory, she felt his absence and those of the sweet Rin and the saturnine Jaken too.

It felt incomplete to be here without them.

Sesshomaru smelled the churn of emotions that drifted like lazy updrafts around him before being swept away by the wind. He turned his nose downwind to help ease the strain of the flux of emotions surrounding them.

The festivities and exclamations of joy were suddenly interrupted by the Taijiya.

"Is something wrong, Kagome?" she asked.

The purple smell of panic rose through the air and buffeted him. Sesshomaru turned and strode their way, it was his cue to intercede after all.

They sensed his coming and turned to him as one. It was rather disconcerting but Sesshomaru appeared unmoved. He stopped a few feet from them and after ascertaining that he had their full attention, he explained, "I found her badly wounded. She was taken care of but she remained, for most part, unconscious. When she awoke, she seemed unable to recollect her life here." He paused. 'Her life with you.' Went unsaid but weighed heavily in the air and settled around them like an icy stole. "She was rather perplexed about the events surrounding her entrance to the Sengoku Jidai and the subsequent quest for Shikon No Tama and Naraku. That is why you are here. You are to help her recollect her memories." He finished.

His soliloquy wet unapplauded as his brother's packmates, chewed over the implications of the revelation. Kagome though, was staring at him in unabashed shock. She could not have gleaned that he was capable of being so eloquent from the monosyllabic, terse replies she was able to wheedle from him on occasion.

"You don't remember anything?" Shippo asked, trying and failing to keep his sadness from his voice.

"Not right now," Kagome replied apologetically, "but I might if you help me."

There was a moment's silence before Sango took her other hand, smiled sadly and said "We will."

The rest murmured in agreement.

Sesshomaru turned away, intending to find Rin and Jaken before nightfall. Kagome saw him go, murmured an apology to her friends and ran after him. He was hidden by the curtain of green at the edge of the forest before she called out to him. He paused. She came to him, slightly out of breath and rather rosily flushed.

He expected a profound and grateful bow but the girl surprised him yet again. She stepped closed, wrapped her arms around him, rested her heated cheek against his slightly cooler armor before drawing back.

"Thank you," she whispered reverently, "For everything."

Sesshomaru, though thrown off balance by the hug, still maintained enough dignity to nod once, slowly in acknowledgement. He turned without waiting for a response and walked away. She did not stir from her spot until he was out of sight and then heaved a small sigh before she turned to her friends.

* * *

That was rather fun, ne?

I hope you enjoyed that.. I hope that was the right kind of affection and not just verez-my-tisoo sap.. XP

Also, For the shameless shippers.. A little extra.. XP

* * *

The fire that Jaken tended to was crackling cheerfully in paradox to the scent of sorrow saturating the air. Even Ah-Un seemed subdued. With his coming, Jaken puttered about him, dutifully commenting on every innocuous nothing he seemed to find. His heart wasn't in it though, that much was painfully clear.

Rin had turned away at his arrival, hurriedly wiping away tear tracks. Ah-Un nuzzled her by turns. She tried to greet him cheerfully but failed miserably, judging from the wobbly smile she gave him.

He _did not _like the expression on Rin's face. He sighed imperceptibly, the way Kagome had, and strode towards a tree trunk. He sat down and beckoned her and she came willingly.

He drew the child into his lap, eliciting a jaw drop from Jaken. Then his training kicked in and he managed to putter around apparently, aimlessly busy. Sesshomaru ignored the sly, incredulous glances Jaken stole at the two in favor of running his claws carefully through her tangled hair.

After a while, she fell into near slumber through the comfort of his claws. It was comforting to groom her as his own mother had once done for him. She would draw him into her lap with a token protest from him saying that he was too old for that. She would wave it away with a careless hand and nuzzle him saying he would always be her baby, drawing further protest from him.

He didn't notice or rather he didn't acknowledge the fact that he needed comforting in the first place. He did not need comforting because he did not miss Kagome or her ceaseless chatter or the way she managed to bond with Rin, despite her shy personality.

And he slept with vague dreams of silken fans of ebony ink and the smell of rain and sunlight that didn't survive the dawn.

* * *

The Real End.

Aurora.

Do review, they make my day. :)


	5. Last Stand

**Title:** Indelible  
**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge –Last Stand  
**Genre:**Romance, Angst, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Alternate Universe  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:**Crack pairings, murder of grammar, assassination of characters, mushiness and rampant disregard for plot  
**Word Count:** 3140  
**A/N:** I'm so sorry that I took so long to post the next installment, I was severely lacking in both time and inspiration. As recompense, I present this three thousand word wonder. I am glad of your patience, your inclination towards reviewing, favoriting, following this story and most importantly, the lack of rotten tomatoes thrown at me. ;P  
**Summary:** Kagome was as indelible a part of his life as her scent was a part of his pelt.  
**Link:** s/8728969/5/Abstractions

* * *

_Colored indelibly in hues of winter and separation, I drift unerringly towards you._

* * *

The village was peaceful. The scent of apples hung in the air as she stretched the sheets on the homespun rope. They fluttered soothingly in the gentle breeze.

Kagome loosened her sleeves to from their fold to ward off the chill of the early winter.

Kagome lingered, savoring the lackadaisical feel of the sun on her skin, its warmth likened to the feel of water. She had settled back into the routine of her life from before, or so Sango said. Kagome was grateful to her friends for everything they had done.

But there were times, like now, when she felt a faint pang of loss.

Unbidden, memories of a different time surfaced. Sesshomaru, as he held his tea cup gingerly in his hands as he looked out into the wilderness. Rin as she smiles her sweet, gap toothed smile. Jaken as he brandishes his staff against her while chidingly calling her the 'corrupting miko'. Ah-Un as they lip her shoulder with their soft huffs of laughter.

She feels her pang more acutely as she opens her eyes and finds herself in the quaint village again.

She shakes off her head hoping to chase the melancholy and failing, she walks back to the village.

*.*.*

Sango was sitting with Miroku discussing strategic fortifications for the village, a little ways away. The raven haired Taijiya smiled sadly as she watched her friend walk away. Seeing her distraction, Miroku follows her gaze toward Kagome.

"She is not happy, is she?" the Monk asks her.

"She is happy to be here with us. Just not completely happy," Sango replies, her gaze heavy with the weight of understanding.

She realized it as soon as Kagome had sprinted after Sesshomaru. She suspected that perhaps her friend might have feelings for the youkai. She could scarcely believe her suspicions then but over the following weeks, they were confirmed when Kagome acted distractedly around them.

It was not completely obvious. She had noticed only because she was familiar with Kagome's mannerisms. The week after they were united was probably trying for her, with everyone trying to tell her everything. The way she dressed, the way she ate, the way she spoke, her family, her hobbies. Inuyasha had spoken to her about the modern world until his throat was sore.

Kagome had listened, she had tried to act according to how everyone was telling her to. Sango could sense that her friend was a million miles away. She smiled cheerfully but there was a slight quirk to it that hinted at homesickness.

It was evident in the moments of preoccupation. It was present in the stolen moments away from everyone, she would close her eyes and smile a different smile.

Pools of obsidian meet indigo as Sango looks at Miroku with the weight of knowledge and unhappiness in her eyes.

There are flutters of discomfort whispering in the region of his heart. He wants to wipe it away and does it in the only way he knows to.

Their gazes are locked and she sits ramrod straight as she looks at him. He takes her hand in his and twines their hands. He leans in as her lips part in shock. In the silence he feels he could almost hear her heart racing uproariously in her wrist. It makes him smile faintly as he brushes his lips against hers.

Her eyes widen in shock and sparkle in fury and the sound of palm meeting cheek rings through the field.

She stands up and walks away in a huffy, muttering murderously of lecherous monks.

He smiles in satisfaction as he is certain she is going to be preoccupied with his kiss for quite some time. He sets his Shakujou on the ground and leans into the tree to rest until she calms down.

*.*.*

As the sun rises higher in the sky, Kagome gathers her hand basket and escapes to the green cover of the forest.

The temperature cools slightly as she breaches the line of the woods. She keeps her eyes lowered, cataloguing all the herbs and the location they are growing in. When Kaede was teaching her moxibustion*, she had instructed Kagome to go and learn about the patterns of growth. When she was not busy concocting fever medicine, she had the task of gathering the herbs for use over winter.

Kagome is bending over the correctly identified herb and is collecting it carefully with her sickle when she feels a presence. The presence prickles at her exposed neck and tingles all the way down her spine through the many layers of the kimono.

A gaze with the weight of a physical presence.

Kagome relaxes slightly as a smile graces her lips. She nonchalantly goes back to gathering her herbs, knowing it would irritate him. The presence is patient but a slight fluctuation tells her of his irritation at being ignored.

At last, after she had gathered all of her herbs she stands up with her basket at her hip. She turns to him. Her breath hitches slightly at the sight he presents.

The sun is an iridescent cloak around him, wrapping him in an almost tender golden embrace. He was taller than she remembered, looming over her even more completely than he had before. The breeze flirts playfully with his silver hair causing silken strands of it dance. The pelt-_her_ pelt- is swinging at his side alongside his sleeve.

Icy gold eyes regard her expressionlessly.

Bronze meets gold as her lips stretch with fine tremors laced through as she smiles at him, it is as brilliant as the color of Snowdrops.

"Welcome," she breathes softly, hardly daring to breathe.

He catches the inflection of homecoming attached as he dips his head infinitesimally in acknowledgement.

Her smile widens as her lashes lower to cloak the flux of emotions she wore in her eyes. When she could control them she opens her eyes.

'Rin and Jaken are here, I presume," she asks conversationally.

"Hn," was his only response. Kagome knew she wouldn't get much more out him so she sets the basket on her hip on the ground and tells him about her life in the village.

Presently, a streak of orange and black and a soft wail collide rather hard with her. Kagome's arms go around the child immediately as Rin presses into her stomach.

Kagome kneels so she could support the child with ease. Rin crawls into her lap crushes Kagome within her arms. Kagome runs her fingers through Rin's hair soothingly. After a while Rin pulls away with a painfully brilliant smile, not unlike the one she gave Sesshomaru.

Kagome laughs and makes coos sweet nothings at both Rin and Ah-Un. Jaken is his usual surly self but she greets him respectfully as he gruffly brushes her greetings away with an exclamation of "impertinent miko". He does however gruffly gather her basket to him.

Kagome takes Rin's hand in hers and walks towards the village while listening to Rin tell her all about what happened to her since Kagome left.

Kagome casts a covert glance at Sesshomaru, he was following them with his eyes fixed straight ahead. Sesshomaru meets her eyes challengingly, she drops her gaze and turns her attention on the little worn trail before her.

She remains that way as they reach the edge of the forest comforted by the near silent rustle of silks.

*.*.*

Inuyasha was lounging on a tree when he scented his brother on the air. His hackles are raised but he stays put because he is certain his brother wouldn't harm Kagome.

So he is unsurprised when Kagome returns from the forest with an entourage in tow. What he really is surprised by is the glow on Kagome's face. It was subtly different from when she is with them but undeniably more radiant.

With narrowed eyes, he watches them. The girl is chattering away cheerfully as the imp follows more sedately with Kagome's basket on his arm. Sesshomaru brings up the rear of the group.

Gold clashes with gold. His brother looks as damnably icy as ever.

Unconsciously, his smile curls around his fang. Sesshomaru sees the smile and looks dismissively at the road before him.

Irate, Inuyasha draws the tesseiga and charges at his brother. Sesshomaru merely side steps the blow as an answering smirk curves around his lips.

Inuyasha is too busy blocking to notice the sigh of exasperation from Kagome and the giggle from Rin.

They wage an epic battle of wills that goes on with a lazy seriousness. Rin was currently being cooed over by Sango. As the evening faded, the both of them put their battle on hold to go hunting for the night's meal.

Kagome suggested eating at a meadow in the forest, in consideration of Sesshomaru's sensitive nose.

Sango agreed, quickly dispatching Miroku for firewood as Shippo eagerly engaged Rin's attention. Sango and Kagome set up the bonfire as the brothers engaged in an argument over who was going to clean the kill.

Miroku attempted to pacify an escalating argument and the brothers exchanged a glance and a small smirk. Miroku was then bulli- ahem, _persuaded_- to clean the kills.

The night is colored in tones of nostalgia and laughter as it proceeded.

Sesshomaru sits at the fringe of the bonfire, knee to wrist, as was his wont. Inuyasha is hemmed in by Sango and Miroku.

The strong aroma of Rabbit stew grew closer. He flicked lazy, half-hooded eyes at the woman before him. She smiled slightly as she hands the bowl cupped by both hands. Sesshomaru is of half a mind to decline but the hopeful smile on her face is his catch.

He rearranges his position and receives the bowl with a softly murmured thanks. As she hands him the bowl, he is careful of his claws and their hands graze.

He dismisses the heightened color in her cheeks as the work of the fire.

She sits by his side, a little ways away but close enough to his- _her_- pelt.

Sesshomaru is uncertain if the intrusion is unwelcome. She sits beside him, enjoying her bowl of stew. The silence is companiable to her but is oddly grating to him.

"The stew was well seasoned," he spoke quietly, unsure of what else to tell her. She has an unrecognizable look in her startled eyes at his compliment but recovers quickly and thanks him. The odd look persists as the night progresses. She keeps him company until she nearly keels over in her exhaustion. She lands on the pelt.

Like the first time, he wraps the pelt around her and deposits her on the blanket Rin and Shippo are sleeping on.

He feels an odd pang when he turns away and finds himself tracking her even breathing.

Morning creeps in entirely too soon. He finds both the children curled under Kagome's arm.

He thinks that perhaps they should remain so. Rin would be older soon and it would serve her well to associate with humans for a little while. He will allow her to remain behind the next time he comes across the miko.

The pang returns as he looks at her still sleeping face.

It is relaxed in sleep, unblemished and so very peaceful. A vision of him waking up to this image everyday assails him. He starts in shock.

Perhaps he has indeed lingered too long. Rin rouses, sleepily rubbing her eyes. That decides him.

"Come Rin," he speaks quietly.

Rin looks stricken and attempts to protest saying she hadn't said her goodbyes yet. A look silences her. Her lips tremble slightly.

He sighs imperceptibly and tells her to convey her regrets next time.

She brightens up after that and acquiesces rather meekly. She gathers flowers and quickly braids them into a bouquet and places one besides each of them.

Inuyasha watches Sesshomaru with unhappy eyes. They were accusing. Sesshomaru does not meet the question in them.

"Aren't you going to wait for the rest of them to wake up?" he asks quietly, but the question was about one person in particular.

"No," Sesshomaru replies and walks away without acknowledging its inflection.

Inuyasha watches him with indecipherable eyes and lets him go.

*.*.*

The sun was shining brightly when Kagome woke. She wakes up with a feeling of happiness pervading her mind. She feels well rested and more relaxed than she had felt in a long time.

She smiles into her arm as Shippo snuggles closer to her. There is a nagging feeling at the corner of her mind and then it clicks. Rin was supposed to be here. She leans back hoping to encounter her small body but finds nothing but a breeze.

Kagome arranges the blanket around Shippo and rises. The camp is effectively broken as Miroku and Sango have dealt with the fire and the dishes. Kaome is carrying the pelt.

A splash of color catches her eye. Sango hands her a braided flower bouquet.

Kagome finds her relaxed mood ebbing away all of a sudden.

"I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye," she says softly.

Inuyasha drops down from the tree. She looks at his scrutinizing gaze and then looks away swiftly. A look passes between the other three.

They reach a unanimous unspoken decision and look at Kagome.

Sango speaks first- "Go," she says with a sweet smile and a tight embrace.

Miroku nods in assent as he extracts a promise from her to visit them as often as possible with a gentle smile.

Kagome attempts to apologize but is waved away by the duo.

Kagome is hesitant to turn to Inuyasha, but when she does, he looks deeply into her eyes. After a brief but searching look, he smiles a touch defeatedly and turns back and offers her a hand.

She takes his hand with her free hand as she piggy backs on him.

The gravity defying leaps are comforting with a familiar rhythm.

All too soon a familiar silver head comes into view.

He has heard them and so he waits. Kagome steps down and gathers his pelt in her arms.

He turns to them, implacably icy. Caught off-guard by the iciness in his gaze, she licks her lips.

There is a flash of something in his eyes as his eyes follow the movement with an almost predatory interest.

Inuyasha announces a break for Rin and deftly guides her to a pool and tucks Jaken kicking and screaming under his arm.

Sesshomaru still says nothing so Kagome attempts to brave the conversation. She hands him the pelt with both hands and bows slightly with a rush of thanks.

He takes the pelt daintily as if the act pained him and he fastened it back to his armor. Kagome's scent is indelibly soaked into it by now.

She stands before him, trepidation evident in the set of her shoulder. It was reminiscent of the time she had faced off against Naraku, a woman making her last stand.

"Is there anything else?" he asks her.

She turns to stare in the direction that Inuyasha departed in and parts her lips, as if to speak but promptly closes them.

She turns towards him and bestows a small smile on him. She attempts to speak but no words come to her aid so she merely wet her lips in preparation again.

She notices the intense scrutiny this time and flushes.

She breathes deeply and starts.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I – ," she stammers slightly before continuing, "I find that I miss them- Rin, Jaken and.. and you". _especially you,_ her mind provides.

The amber in his eyes darkens in annoyance, he was not entirely happy with the positioning of her words. Her implication that she missed Jaken more than him.

He says nothing and with nothing but annoyance flickering in his eyes, Kagome presses forward, hoping to alleviate his mood and persuade him.

"I was wondering if I might join you again," she finishes softly, unhesitantly. There is a wealth of emotion flickering in the words and her powers react to her words, sparkling faintly beneath her skin.

The world had narrowed to lock them in this little bubble of space with its worn trail and wide road. The leaves eddied in the wind around them in preparation of the coming winter. The silence was absolute in the space between her question and his answer.

Sesshomaru is still immobile with silence as he is torn between wanting this miko with him and hesitation for the changes she might bring in him. He is afraid he is making the exact same mistake his father was.

She is still, silent and her sleeve worn heart is brimming with hope.

Hope that recedes with each passing second until it is brushed aside by a feeling of rejection.

Her lashes are lowered shielding her eyes and the emotions in them.

She bows and turns to leave.

That is what decides him, the feeling of dejection weighing her shoulders and head down.

He speaks quietly but distinctly, "This Sesshomaru would not mind if you joined him."

Her head rises as she stands stock still, her powers sparkle brighter.

She turns to him, her smile brilliant as the color of Snowdrops. She knows it is as close to an admission of undying love as she would get. She does not mind.

Amber meets bronze and darkens slightly.

She steps forward, hardly able to believe her daring, and loosely wraps her arms around his torso and draws close. To her complete surprise, a hand is placed on her back in return.

She stays there for quite some time, as her racing heart slows and a feeling of contentment steals through her.

No, she does not mind at all.

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I am deeply grateful for all the support you have been giving my story and I hope, this has been to your liking.

Posted on 17 April 2013.

If so inclined, do review.

Aurora


	6. Into the Sunset

**EPILOGUE**

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**Title:** The Sunset  
**Author:** DawningAurora  
**Prompt:** WANTED! Challenge –Into the Sunset  
**Genre:**Romance, Drama  
**AU/CU:** Alternate Universe  
**Rating:** K+  
**Warnings:**Crack pairings, murder of grammar, assassination of characters.  
**Word Count: 916**  
**A/N:** Finally, we come to the conclusion. Their happy endings. Today is the second last day we are allowed to make submissions into the contest. I know I took my own sweet time. But this piece makes me happy. I hope that you will have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.  
**Summary:** Of heart-mates and family.  
**Link:** s/8728969/6/Abstractions

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_"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story." _  
_― Frank Herbert_

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When Kagome was little, Mama used to read her stories. A single peculiarity of her stories was that Mama always ended her stories with- "They walked into the sunset together, hand in hand" or "as the sun set lit their road home". This led Kagome to associate happy endings with sunset.

In the intervening decades between the autumn days of her confession, her rejoinder to Sesshomaru and the present, a lot had happened. Kagome and Sesshomaru realized the fledgling feelings that bloomed between them. Quite a feat considering Sesshomaru's stubbornness.

Between the halcyon days she had lived a life, rich in its experiences. She had borne witness to the birth Sango and Miroku's three children. She had lived as a beloved aunt to them through their lives and then she had become guardian to their children and then their children and their children.

She had solemnized the union of Rin with the love of her adult life, Inuyasha. They lived a hill and a half world away.

She had held Sango's hand as her life slipped her away. She had guided Miroku through his grief until he too joined Sango in the AfterWorld.

She spent her life wandering the world, healing the weak, guiding the lost until grey streaked her hair.

She had felt the wonder of countless souls reborn. She had marveled at the resilience of her kind through all ills. She had weathered the deaths of her beloved people.

But the most sacred, wondrous of all that she had ever seen or felt was Sesshomaru. The depth of his integrity and his love. He never restrained her to his side. She had always felt free to leave to do what she had to. He always welcomed her with open arms. A sulk, perhaps, for being gone for so long but always open arms.

The infinite patience he had for her. He always waited for her. No matter how long she took. She remembers the gentle care he bestowed on her after Sango's funeral. She had felt numbed by grief, by loss and rage at her helplessness.

He had stayed by her side despite her demands to leave her alone. He gently coaxed her from her pain-wrought shell, hiding her tears within the threads of his kimono. He slowly recounted his feelings after his father's death, sparing no feelings. The raw emotion within his quiet voice shocked her from her bout of depression, making her realize that the people around her needed her too.

It was he who had encouraged her to use her abilities as a miko to guide people and heal them. Looking back, if it weren't for him, she would have lived a half-lived life. She would be merely Sesshomaru's heart-mate. Not that that was a bad predicament, her miko powers were granted to her for a reason and to not use them was like forgoing the use of a limb. Something Sesshomaru understood entirely too well.

Something bumped into her, jolting her to the present. Rin sat next to her, sipping tea placidly. She looked radiant, despite the passage of nearly four centuries. Kagome looked at the hanyou hugging her shoulders and smiled. Her daughter, Rika, was entirely too restless when her cousins came to visit.

Placid as her father, she looked steadily at her with bronze eyes which were a legacy of her mother's. The long fall of silver hair only served to emphasize her beauty. She looked like her father but held her mother's powers as a miko. It was a running joke in the family. A hanyou miko.

The clang of swords met her ears. The women rolled their eyes. Their sons', like their fathers, greeted each other by sword rather than words. Nothing they could say would ever change that tradition.

"Shall we bring out the deal breaker," Rin asked her, laughter evident in her eyes.

"Why, I thought you'd never ask." Kagome winked at her.

Rin called the boys to dinner. As expected, the fight stopped in seconds as all attention turned towards thoughts of food. Even Rika slunk away to help Rin. Kagome stood with one last look backwards.

The sun set over her family and just like in any of Mama's story, hers too heralded the happy ending.

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Thank you for sticking with me for so long guys. It's with a little bit of relief and a lot of melancholia that I complete this story. I thank everyone who has favorited, reviewed and followed my story. Your encouragement has been rejuvenating. I hope you will continue to do so. Thank you for everything you've done so far. As always, I would appreciate a review. :)

Posted on 30 May 2012.

Fin.

Aurora.


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